Syzygy
Neil is a founding member and baritone player in the contemporary saxophone quartet Syzygy:
The Syzygy Saxophone Quartet were formed after playing together at the 2009 World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok with the London Saxophone Ensemble. The quartet was established with the aim to promote and perform established contemporary works, alongside new music written especially for the ensemble. Syzygy’s debut performance was in the Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham, as part of the Frontiers + Andreissen Festival, where they performed Louis Andriessen’s Facing Death. Since then the quartet have gone on to perform at major chamber concert venues across the UK, including performances at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and at the Purcell Room as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artists New Year Series. They made their debut at St Martin-in-the-Fields in July 2012. Syzygy have recently been awarded the performance and recording rights to the new work ‘Songs for the Coming Day’ by American composer, David Maslanka. As the only quartet in Europe to own these rights, over the coming 12 months they will be performing this major new composition across the UK as well as featuring the piece on their debut album.
http://syzygy.create.net/
Neil is a founding member and baritone player in the contemporary saxophone quartet Syzygy:
The Syzygy Saxophone Quartet were formed after playing together at the 2009 World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok with the London Saxophone Ensemble. The quartet was established with the aim to promote and perform established contemporary works, alongside new music written especially for the ensemble. Syzygy’s debut performance was in the Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham, as part of the Frontiers + Andreissen Festival, where they performed Louis Andriessen’s Facing Death. Since then the quartet have gone on to perform at major chamber concert venues across the UK, including performances at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and at the Purcell Room as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artists New Year Series. They made their debut at St Martin-in-the-Fields in July 2012. Syzygy have recently been awarded the performance and recording rights to the new work ‘Songs for the Coming Day’ by American composer, David Maslanka. As the only quartet in Europe to own these rights, over the coming 12 months they will be performing this major new composition across the UK as well as featuring the piece on their debut album.
http://syzygy.create.net/
Decibel
Neil also plays with contemporary music group Decibel:
Formed in 2003 by Irish composer Ed Bennett, and recently described in The Guardian as an ensemble performing 'Unclassifiable, raw-nerve music of huge energy and imagination', Decibel explores experimental, energetic, extreme and unusual work which generally exists between, or outside the usual categories. They play contemporary music which combines a direct amplified instrumental ensemble sound with electronics, improvisation and in some cases theatrical elements. Apart from premiering many works by Ed Bennett, Decibel has worked with a diverse range of subversive composers and artists including Louis Andriessen, Heiner Goebbels, Laurence Crane, Howard Skempton, Michael Finnissy, Joe Cutler and Michael Wolters commissioning and premiering many new works. The group has also collaborated with artists from different disciplines including video artists and choreographers. Since Decibel's first concert in Belfast in 2003 they have performed in concert halls, libraries, fields, sculptures, schools and art galleries throughout the UK and Ireland, to enthusiastic audiences and critical acclaim. The group's recent CD of Ed Bennett’s music 'My Broken Machines' on NMC Records was Time Out Chicago's No.1 Contemporary CD of 2011.
http://www.edbennett.co.uk/decibel/
Neil also plays with contemporary music group Decibel:
Formed in 2003 by Irish composer Ed Bennett, and recently described in The Guardian as an ensemble performing 'Unclassifiable, raw-nerve music of huge energy and imagination', Decibel explores experimental, energetic, extreme and unusual work which generally exists between, or outside the usual categories. They play contemporary music which combines a direct amplified instrumental ensemble sound with electronics, improvisation and in some cases theatrical elements. Apart from premiering many works by Ed Bennett, Decibel has worked with a diverse range of subversive composers and artists including Louis Andriessen, Heiner Goebbels, Laurence Crane, Howard Skempton, Michael Finnissy, Joe Cutler and Michael Wolters commissioning and premiering many new works. The group has also collaborated with artists from different disciplines including video artists and choreographers. Since Decibel's first concert in Belfast in 2003 they have performed in concert halls, libraries, fields, sculptures, schools and art galleries throughout the UK and Ireland, to enthusiastic audiences and critical acclaim. The group's recent CD of Ed Bennett’s music 'My Broken Machines' on NMC Records was Time Out Chicago's No.1 Contemporary CD of 2011.
http://www.edbennett.co.uk/decibel/
